I'm thinking about picking up a 9860 on ebay to use when i'm bored with my Lumia 900. It's been while since I've used a BB (last one was a 8310) and i'm wondering if you still have to use BIS if you're not on a BES server or can you set up Outlook and Gmail the same way you do on an iphone or android??
Also, what size sim card does a 9860 use?

Yes BIS is needed if you want email

App world works on wifi now.

Gmail setup is pretty easy with the new setup app and is pushed very fast, almost as fast as my BES.